CARLSBAD, Calif. — Once he had snapped off a few opening one-liners about Toronto’s “blue flu,” Minnesota fans going to games where “only one of the Twins show up,” and Marlins crowds putting “the MIA to Miami,” superagent Scott Boras got to the point in his program when, with a ringmaster’s grin, he introduced the main attraction.

“Certainly Harper’s bazaar has begun,” he said.

In a 65-minute chat with members of the media at baseball’s general manager meetings, Boras outlined his concerns about the game’s tanking culture and its miserly, uncompetitive teams. He also offered the first public glimpses of the case he’s making for his client, former MVP Bryce Harper, as interested teams line up for what is expected to end with the largest free-agent contract in baseball history. At least some teams are spending.

The Cardinals’ front office has heard at least part of Boras’ presentation on Harper after meeting with the agent this week, in person, at the resort hosting the meetings. Other discussions are inevitable. The Cardinals have interest in multiple Boras clients, and they were described Wednesday by someone familiar with those talks as “a factor” in the courtship of the young slugger, in this Harper’s bazaar. The 26-year-old outfielder is intrigued by overtures from the Cardinals, multiple sources confirmed, and another source referred to the Cardinals as “in a better position than maybe they realize.”

Boras has referred repeatedly to Harper as a “generational talent,” and when he elaborated Wednesday his description was as much GQ, Forbes and Popular Mechanics as it was the title he borrowed, Harper’s Bazaar.

“It’s fashionable. It’s historical. It’s elite. Global, certainly,” Boras said. “And it has inspirations that deal with great shoes and great hair. When you’re in a category of talent and player in the game that rarely, rarely is there, you’re talking about a process that I think is very unconventional. You’re dealing with a generational player, and what is a generational player? He holds the quality of elite performance. He’s … available for the greatest numbers of elite years for performance.

“You’ve seen an owner’s dream happen before you,” Boras concluded. “For an owner to know that the rocket ship of economic opportunity is just blasting off — because the player is just entering the prime of his career.”

The cover charge to enter the bidding on the “rocket ship” is not clear, though what it’s not was revealed Wednesday. The Washington Post reported that the Nationals presented Harper a 10-year, $300 million offer before their exclusive negotiating rights lapsed with their free agent. The deal did not include any opt-outs or a no-trade clause.

The Washington Post made the point that it’s the largest contract ever offered a free agent in any of the continent’s four major sports. Harper’s side declined and reached open market.

The decade-long length of the contract is coveted by Harper, and it’s long been believed that his side would aim to eclipse the $325 million value of Giancarlo Stanton’s record deal. Stanton was not a free agent, so that contract happened in single-team negotiations. Zack Greinke has the highest annual average value in history at $34 million per year, and it’s reasonable to expect Harper — younger than Greinke, and an everyday player — to seek a deal that surpasses that record as well.

“He brings a dynamic to the clubhouse that few people can bring,” Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said. “He was a kid who played with his hair on fire the first three or four years of his career. What we didn’t realize was this guy has a huge baseball IQ. He wants to be great. We knew he was good. He wanted to be great. He wants to be the best. … He’s a young MVP, youngest All-Star ever. He’s got a shelf full of awards that show the type of player he is. He (was) a grizzled veteran at 25 years old that’s done a lot in the game already. He’s just scratching the surface.”

The Cardinals, by rule, do not discuss specific free agents or their pursuits. When it comes to a transcendent player like Harper, they do not have any reluctance to offer opt-out clauses in contracts — they did before with Jason Heyward — and they routinely provide players no-trade clauses. In their pursuit of Stanton a year ago via trade, they proved willing to take on a salary greater than $255 million and a cost greater than $300 million.

Three times in the past three offseasons, the Cardinals have made bids on players that would have cost them close to $200 million or more. They landed none.

“I don’t think the fact that we haven’t gotten some big deals done changes whether we were able to offer another big deal going forward,” general manager Michael Girsch said. “Look, all of these markets for elite players have more than one team chasing them, and only one team gets them. That doesn’t affect our level of interest in doing that where we see an opportunity that makes sense for us.”

Girsch did not need an analogy when making his list.

“We want the best hitter we can get who fits in with our team,” he said.

Boras said that he intends to meet with any team that expresses interest in Harper and every team Harper points him toward. Asked Wednesday if Harper had a preference for the size of city, location of city, or site of spring training, Boras insisted his client is open to all things. He specifically remarked how Harper enjoyed San Francisco — the Giants are a likely suitor — and the crowds that gather at AT&T Park. He’d say a similar thing about the Cardinals, their history, and crowds that fill Busch Stadium. Boras, personally, has a fondness for the Cardinals franchise that goes deeper than any sales pitch, and he refers to the late George Kissell, a beloved Cardinals coach, as a mentor. After several high-profile players have rejected the Cardinals’ offers, there are reasons to believe Harper would entertain one.

As he hopscotched from zinger to answers Wednesday, Boras hinted at the numbers he’s presenting teams about Harper. He contends Harper will increase franchise value, especially for teams that own their own networks or a share of their rights holders, as the Cardinals do. He suggested talent is better than “Andy and Mayberry reruns.” He notes how players at Harper’s age rarely hit the open market, and often zoom toward Cooperstown with their peak-year performance. Since 2005, there have been four 1.100 OPS seasons in baseball.

Albert Pujols has three.

Harper has the other one, in 2015.

Asked after his meeting with the press if a major talent needs a major market to maximize his “rocket ship” of possibilities, Boras paused. Major players make markets major.

“Because you hold an asset that no one else has when you have a generational player,” Boras said. “We saw Ken Griffey Jr. go to Seattle and make Seattle something very different than it was. I think the point is you can have oil wells in Midland, Texas, and it’s still an oil well.”

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